Stab of the Heart
by AmyVS7
Summary: Two members of the Law & Order UK team come face to face with the terror of knife crime. Leaving one of them contemplating the possibility that they might be about to lose the one person they care about the most.


Law and Order UK fic:

Pairing: Matt/Alesha

Disclaimer: I don't own anything!

Summary: Two members of the Law & Order UK come face to face with the terror of knife crime. Leaving one of them contemplating the possibility that they might be about to lose the one person they care about the most.

**WARNING! - **Dealing with issues of an attack, so it isnt light-hearted. I hope i dont upset anyone, if i do i sincerely apologise. Also there is one swear word, but hey i'm sure you are all fine with that.

...

**Stab of the Heart**

"Right so if we check out Dobson's place first" Alesha said, now putting away her notebook in her bag "Then we'll meet the guys back in George's office?"

"Sure, sounds good" smiled Matt, whilst he walked alongside Alesha, as they continued to walk down a typical London street "I still don't see how Ronnie managed to wangle his way out of not going."

"Well we may have to use him later, remember this is undercover Matt. You should know, you're the detective after all" Alesha grinned mischievously at him "Besides i'm with you, so it's not like you're going to have to face him alone."

"That's exactly my point" Matt said, his tone of voice changing to become more serious "I didn't want you to come along, it could be dangerous."

"Don't worry, I'll be fine" she smiled at him "I've got the best detective in London with me."

"You sure have" Matt winked at her and Alesha just giggled.

The skyline of London was becoming ever increasingly darker as the cloudy sky began turner blacker and blacker. Alesha felt the droplets of rain falling on her head, she looked up at the sky momentarily and held out the palm of her hand to feel the water.

"Oh great, it's starting to rain!" Alesha moaned, regretting wearing a coat without a hood.

"We should really start carrying umbrellas with us" Matt laughed as the rain started becoming heavier. The amount of people near them, and in the distance, could be seen rushing to find some form of shelter.

"Come on" Matt grabbed Alesha's hand gently and they started running down the street, they managed to cross a road and headed into a side street which was almost completely deserted.

"Matt! Look!" Alesha was pointing directly in front of her where there was an entrance to what looked like an old disused shopping arcade; it was dark but was completely sheltered from the elements. They headed over and instantly leant against the brick wall, both of them breathing heavily from the run.

"Remind me never to wear high heeled boots when coming out with you" Alesha said, just managing to catch her breath.

"Oh don't say that" Matt said dejectedly, as he gazed down at Alesha's black leather knee high boots "They are some very sexy boots."

Alesha elbowed him in the ribs playfully but blushed nonetheless, she started shivering "It's even colder here than it is out in the rain, how is that possible?"

"I don't know" replied Matt "But what I do know is I think I should get you a new coat, the one you have has got no hood and you're cold, that's no use."

Alesha raised her eyebrows "So are you saying you're actually offering to take me shopping?"

"Sure, why not" Matt shrugged, smiling at her, before looking out of the entrance of the arcade to see if the rain had stopped, only to find it raining even more. Suddenly there was a big flash of light and seconds later followed by a loud crack of thunder.

Alesha almost leapt out of her skin in fright and grabbed hold of Matt.

"Don't tell me you're scared of thunderstorms?" Matt said, a surprise tone to his voice.

"Yes, they're horrible!" Alesha said forcibly, whilst clinging to Matt's long black overcoat.

Matt put a comforting arm around Alesha "It'll be okay, it won't last much longer, when this rain slows down we'll get out of here."

"I hope so" Alesha replied nervously.

Another, extremely loud, bout of thunder clapped in the heavens overhead, causing Alesha to give a small scream in shock.

"Are you alright?" Matt asked in concern, but chuckled at the same time "There is no need to scream."

"Sorry" Alesha apologised, blushing again, feeling awfully embarrassed that she was acting like such a scared wimp in front of Matt. This didn't seem to deter the young detective in the slightest; Matt just chuckled and kissed the side of Alesha's head as he rubbed her arm "Don't worry."

As the thunder continued to strike overhead, the rain not looking likely to stop anytime soon, Matt and Alesha were contemplating calling for a cab when they abruptly became aware of a crashing sound out in the alley around the corner.

"What was that?" Alesha asked worriedly, looking in the direction of the noise with very alert eyes.

"Probably a stray cat or something" Matt said, not looking as concerned as his partner was "Your scream probably scared the life out of it."

"Oh ha-ha" Alesha said sarcastically, finally cracking a smile.

Then all of a sudden someone appeared in the archway of the arcade, a few feet from where Alesha and Matt were standing, still leaning against the wall. He was a good six feet tall, dressed completely in black from head to toe, a balaclava covering his face. More terrifyingly than that, he had a knife.

Matt spotted both the man, and the knife, immediately, and fear began pumping through his body. Alesha's fear was even more heightened than Matt's as she saw the man standing there like a silhouette in the archway "Oh my god!"

"Give me your money!" the man said in a gruff voice as he approached them, the knife held out in front of him.

"I must warn you, I'm a police officer" Matt said loudly as he held up his identification "Don't do anything stupid. Just please, put the knife down."

"Matt, be careful!" Alesha whispered to him, urgently, clinging onto his arm.

"Look, you can stop this now" Matt continued "If you don't then I can call for back-up." Matt moved himself so he was standing in front of Alesha, protecting her, he could almost feel her shaking in fear.

The man was coming ever closer, still wielding the steak knife out in front of him "You don't belong here, this is my patch! Give me your money and go!"

"We're sorry...and we really don't have any money on us" Alesha said weakly, yet desperately "Just please, let us go..."

"Empty your bag!" the man shouted at Alesha, his piercing dark eyes focussed on her. Matt continued to stay in front of Alesha as she tipped her bag onto the floor and the contents showed a pen and notepad, her phone and a packet of tissues.

"Give me the phone!" the man bellowed angrily.

Alesha threw her phone to the man, before he turned to Matt in an even more aggressive tone "Now, you, empty your pockets!"

Matt was rather more reluctant, than Alesha had been, to listen to this man. As a copper he was used to dealing with thugs like this.

"Matt, show him!" Alesha persuaded him, urgently.

"I suggest you do what your girl says" the man said directly to Matt.

Matt wasn't willing to risk his own safety, and more importantly in Matt's eyes, Alesha's safety, by refusing this man; so he emptied his pockets too, pulling out his phone and a ten pound note "Here, that's all we've got" Matt said calmly, throwing them both to the man.

"Liar!" cried the man furiously and he ran at the pair of them, the knife heading straight for Matt. Alesha screamed "No!" and pushed Matt out of harm's way but to her own expense. The blade of the knife stuck through the top of Alesha's leg, she screamed as the excruciating pain hit through her body.

"Alesha!" screamed Matt, not being able to get to her as the man kicked Matt in the stomach causing him to double over in pain. The attacker grabbed hold of the two phones and Matt's money and ran off, whilst Alesha screamed and cried out in pain as she sank to the cold, dirty, floor holding her wounded leg.

"Alesha!" Matt shouted in panic as he rushed over to her side, the pain in his stomach now put to the back of his head as he concentrated on her. He looked down at her leg.

Only the knife handle could be seen protruding out of Alesha's thigh, the blade itself completely imbedded, blood was trickling onto the ground by her leg.

"Oh my god, Alesha" Matt looked back at her face which was dripping with tears "It's okay darling, we're gunna get you to hospital, its gunna be fine."

"Matt!" Alesha cried "Oh my god, it hurts so much, Matt."

"I know sweetie, I know" he was fumbling around in his coat to find his second phone he always kept in there for emergencies, calling an ambulance. Matt held Alesha's hand as he talked on the phone.

"It's okay, the ambulance is coming Alesha" Matt told her a minute later as he put the phone away. Alesha was starting to look a bit faint and paler by the second, Matt's concern for her escalating by the seconds and minutes that went by "Alesha, Alesha, talk to me" Matt cupped her cheeks with both his hands "Come on babe, stay with me, talk to me, just keep your eyes open for me. Alesha?"

"Matt" Alesha said, opening her eyes a bit wider to look directly at him "I don't want to die!"

"Alesha, I swear to you, I will not let that happen. It won't come to that."

"You promise?" Alesha said weakly, choking back another sob.

"I promise" Matt said seriously as he kissed her forehead and sat closer to her, so she could lean into him, as she cried in pain. Matt saw the tissues that were still on the ground from when Alesha had tipped them out of her bag, he snatched the packet up quickly.

"Alesha, you're gunna have to trust me, alright? I'm gunna try and help stop the bleeding."

All Alesha could do was nod and Matt applied the tissues around the area where the knife was situated and applied pressure. Alesha winced in pain and cried fresh tears, but Matt used both of his hands on the tissues either side of the knife to stop the blood flow.

"You're doing so well Alesha, just try and stay calm, the ambulance will be here any minute" he looked into her eyes, and watched her as she was taking deep breaths but tears were swimming in her eyes.

"Matt" Alesha cried, now looking back at him "Can you do something for me?"

"Anything" Matt replied seriously.

"Remind me not to go into anymore disused places with you ever again, even if it is during a thunderstorm."

Matt cracked the smallest of smiles "Deal."

Alesha managed a small smile too "And Ronnie owes me one hell of a drink for taking his place."

Matt gave a small laugh "I'll make him get you two, as will I."

Matt was surprised Alesha was managing to be humorous at a time like this, but he concluded that it was her way of trying to ignore the pain. But it quickly all got too much for her as Alesha cried out again and held her head, a slightly befuddled look on her face "Matt...my head feels all funny."

"Alesha?" said Matt worriedly; his heart gave a jolt in fear "Alesha, talk to me...keep your eyes open." He kept one hand on her wound and used the other to support her head, trying everything he could to keep her conscious.

"Matt?" Alesha said quietly, her tear filled eyes now connected to his "I'm scared... I'm so scared! Please don't leave me, Matt. Please!"

Matt cupped her cheek and rubbed the pad of his thumb across it, wiping the tears away "Shhhh, you don't need to be scared, it's going to be alright. I'm here; I'm not going anywhere sweetheart."

Matt could see that Alesha was starting to shiver again and so Matt got Alesha to keep applying pressure to her wound as he took off his coat and wrapped it around her.

"Thank-you" Alesha said with a grateful smile, before looking at him seriously "I'm so glad you're here."

Matt kissed the side of her head and wrapped an arm around Alesha as she leant back into him, both of them now using a hand each to keep applying pressure to the wound.

"When this is all over with, I'm definitely taking you shopping" Matt told Alesha, trying to keep her mind off everything.

"Alright" Alesha said, attempting to smile through her pain "I'll hold you to that."

All of a sudden they could hear sirens heading their way and both of them breathed a sigh of relief.

"They're here, Alesha. It's okay, you're going to be okay" Matt kissed Alesha's forehead and, rather reluctantly, rushed to the end of the alley so the paramedics knew where they were, leaving Alesha sitting on the ground a few feet behind him, trying to keep herself from passing out.

...

George, Ronnie, Natalie and James laughed as they were all sat in George's office, listening to George talking about his latest meeting with the DPP.

"Oh come on, you cannot be serious!" laughed James, as he passed a cup of coffee to Natalie.

"It's true I'm telling you..." George replied but was interrupted as Ronnie's mobile went off.

"Sorry guys" Ronnie said, getting up from his chair as he answered the phone "Ronnie Brooks...yeah...oh my god! ...are they okay? ... Ahuh ... yes of course, we'll be right there... okay... thank-you" and he hung up the phone, looking seriously worried.

"Ronnie?" Natalie said, looking concerned, as were the rest of the team as they looked at him expectantly.

"It's Matt and Alesha...they've been attacked."

...

Ronnie, Natalie, James and George all rushed down the hospital corridors as quickly as possible.

"Excuse me" said Ronnie to one of the nurses "We're looking for an Alesha Phillips and Matt Devlin?"

"Yes, if you keep going down the end of this corridor, turn right and then right again, Mr. Devlin is with Miss Phillips."

"Thank-you very much" Ronnie replied.

The four of them met Matt who was pacing up and down the second corridor, they could see he had blood on part of his trousers, and he was holding his stomach. He looked like he was on the verge of a panic attack.

"Matt!" Ronnie cried out.

Matt looked up to see them coming towards him, he had tears in his eyes and he hugged Ronnie as if he hadn't seen him for years.

"Hey, what's all this about?" Ronnie asked his affectionately named surrogate son "Oh god it's not Alesha, has something happened since the nurse called us?"

Matt withdrew from the hug and looked back at them "She's had to have emergency surgery...she fell unconscious when we were in the ambulance."

"Okay...let's sit you down, come on...take some deep breaths" Ronnie said to him, trying to guide Matt to some nearby chairs but Matt shrugged him off, refusing to sit down.

"How did this all happen Matt?" Natalie asked in concern, wanting to get to the bottom of what had gone on.

When Matt explained the full story to the rest of the team they all looked even more worried than they had been when they had arrived.

"Have you been checked out too?" James asked.

Matt nodded and lifted his shirt slightly to show the huge bruise he had on his stomach.

"Oh Matt, that looks really painful!" Natalie said, almost not being able to look at it.

Matt sighed as he finally decided to sit down on one of the chairs "Nothing compared to what's happened to Alesha" he held his head in his hands, almost shamefully.

Ronnie came to sit next to him "Don't beat yourself up about it Matt, she's going to be fine."

"Our Alesha will pull through, she's a strong woman" George piped up as he sat in a chair opposite the two boys.

Ronnie smiled "Yeah, when have we ever seen our Alesha give up on anything eh? She's like a dog with a bone."

This earned smiles all round as Natalie and James too went to sit down with the group "Do we know how long she will be in surgery?" James wondered.

Matt shrugged "They said it shouldn't be too long, all being well."

Matt was physically shaking and Ronnie had to put his hand on Matt's arm to steady him "Hey, son, come on, she's going to be fine."

"I just..." Matt looked on the verge of tears "I wish I could have done more to protect her, I should have done something!" he looked angry with himself.

"Matt you did all you could" James said to him honestly "At least she wasn't alone."

"Yeah James is right" Natalie replied "She could've died if you hadn't have been there."

Matt gave another sigh, hoping and praying that Alesha would pull through. They all stayed in silence for a while, all of them too lost in their thoughts.

Within an hour one of the surgeons approached "Mr. Devlin?"

Matt stood up instantly "Yes?"

"Your girlfriend is going to be fine" the whole team gave a sigh of relief, even if the surgeon's use of the word 'girlfriend' had surprised them all. Apart from Matt.

"So there were no complications with the surgery?" Matt continued.

"None at all" the surgeon smiled "We're confident she will make a full recovery, she's in the recovery room now, she's a bit groggy as the anaesthetic hasn't worn off completely yet, but you can see her now if you like?"

"Yes please" Matt said, so relieved at knowing Alesha was going to be alright "And thank-you for everything you've done" he shook the man's hand.

"Just doing my job" the surgeon smiled and walked off.

Matt turned back to the others with a smile, all of them mirroring his facial expression.

"So she's going to be okay then?" Ronnie said with a grin, having heard the surgeon talking to Matt.

Matt laughed, unable to believe it "Yeah...yeah she's going to be fine" he had tears in his eyes, but happy ones this time.

"Aw come here son" Ronnie came over and hugged him "We knew she would be fine, you just have to believe."

"Yeah" Matt said, thinking he had not felt so happy in a long time.

"There's just one thing we need to clear up, that I think all of us are wondering?" James said, whilst briefly glancing at Ronnie, George and Natalie, all of whom nodded in agreement.

"What's that?" Matt asked, frowning.

"Girlfriend?" the four of them said in unison, all now having curious smiles on their faces.

Matt blushed "Oh...the paramedic assumed we were together, when he was talking to me not long after Alesha fell unconscious in the ambulance, and I...just went along with it."

"Matt!" Natalie said, surprised "Y'know if Alesha finds out, she might not be too happy."

"Oh I doubt that very much" Ronnie said, with a knowing grin at his young partner "Quite the opposite I would think."

Matt just rolled his eyes "Look guys, you can debate this all you want, but I'm going to see Alesha."

"Do we get to come too?" Ronnie asked.

Matt looked slightly embarrassed "Would you guys mind letting me go by myself?...it's just..." he then blurted out, without having chance to think about it "I want to see her on my own...just be there with her...y'know" He blushed scarlet red, feeling a bit uncomfortable, whilst the others were trying to hold back their smiles. Matt continued "I'll be back in a bit" and he left hurriedly in the same direction that the surgeon had also left.

Ronnie smiled at the rest of them "Aww, our kids are in love, they just don't know it yet."

"Oh I think they know it alright" James piped up, happily.

The group smiled at each other and Natalie spoke up "Might be the one good thing to come from this horrific ordeal."

...

The recovery room was situated a few corridors away, Matt approached the room and could see through the slightly open vertical blinds in the windows that Alesha was lying almost upright in the bed, an oxygen mask over her face. Her head was resting on the pillow, facing away from him, so Matt was unable to tell if she was awake from where he was standing. He knocked on the door quietly and opened it. Alesha instantly turned her head to see who had entered.

"Hey you" Matt said softly with a bright smile as he closed the door and came to sit on the chair next to the bed.

"Matt!" Alesha said gladly, removing the mask from her face "You're here!"

"Of course, where else would I be, eh?" he smiled at her and moved his chair as close as he possibly could to her bed "How are you feeling?"

"Aswell as I can be" she gave the smallest of smiles "My head still feels a bit funny, but that's just the anaesthetic... and my leg is still achy."

Matt was gazing at Alesha, all the worry and events from earlier were catching up on him, Alesha noticed immediately.

"Matt, what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Matt tried to control his emotions "I'm sorry, I just..." he gave a shaky sigh "Today, what happened to you, I still can't get over it. I was so worried I was going to lose you."

"You can't get rid of me that easily" Alesha said with a smile, but noticed this hadn't made any difference in attempting to cheer Matt up "Aww Matt, come here" she sat up as Matt came to sit on the bed facing her and they hugged one another "It's all going to be okay, I'm fine, you're fine." She brought him out of the hug "Actually, a_re_ you okay? How is your stomach?"

"Oh it's fine" Matt replied, thinking nothing of it "Industrial strength painkillers doing their job."

"Let me see" Alesha said calmly, yet persuasively.

Matt, reluctantly, lifted his shirt up slightly to show her the bruise. Alesha put a hand to her mouth "Oh my god! Matt!" she moved her hand away "Oh Matt, that looks so nasty! I didn't realise it was that bad!"

Matt shrugged "It's nothing, I can deal with it...you're my number one priority right now."

Alesha gave a small smile "I don't need to be, honestly" she then had another thought "Where is everyone else, have you let them know what's happened?"

"Yeah they are in the waiting area, I wanted to come and see you first though" he smiled shyly "Had to check you were alright."

Alesha smiled "I'm glad you did" she took his hand in hers "And also I'm glad it's just the two of us, because I want to say thank-you."

"What for?" Matt asked, a little surprised.

"For being there for me today... you tried to protect me" Matt raised his eyebrows and Alesha giggled "Okay it didn't go exactly to plan, but that's beside the point...you were willing to put your own life on the line for me...you helped me and waited with me for the ambulance. If you hadn't of helped stop the bleeding I could have bled to death, you kept me calm and focused and you looked after me" Alesha looked on the verge of tears "And I'll never, _ever_, forget that Matt. Thank-you so much!" she hugged him tightly and used all her willpower to not start crying.

Matt rubbed her back "And I'd do it all again, for you" he told her as he brought Alesha out of the hug "You saved my life too, if you hadn't of pushed me out of the way that knife would have gone in me...even though you shouldn't have done it...I will still be forever grateful, so thank-you."

Alesha smiled back at him and kissed his cheek, before lying back against the bed. Veering off the serious, deep conversation, slightly "I don't know why they are keeping me in the recovery room, I feel fine."

"It's just a precaution and so they know the anaesthetic has worn off" Matt said to her, before saying more seriously "Do you want me to go, do you want some rest?"

"No, no" Alesha grabbed Matt's hand again "Please don't go." They gazed into eachother's eyes lovingly, but were brought out of it as there was a knock on the door and a nurse walked in.

"Hi Alesha, how are you feeling?"

"I feel good" Alesha replied with a smile "How long do I have to stay in this recovery room for?"

"Well I'm just going to check you over and we'll see" the nurse turned to Matt "You can stay if you want, or you could wait outside?"

"I'll wait outside" Matt said, getting up off the bed "Let you have some privacy" he smiled to Alesha.

He left them to it and headed back to the waiting room to see the guys.

..

Alesha was checked over and given all the necessary medication that she needed, before being transferred to a separate room, in which she would recover for a day or two before being allowed to go home.

"Right so that's everything yeah?" Natalie had a list of items to be retrieved from Alesha's house and brought in for her.

Alesha nodded "Yeah, thanks for this Natalie" as she handed Natalie the keys that had been in her coat pocket.

"It's the least I could do" Natalie assured her.

"Right, we'd better get off, let you get some rest Alesha" James said with a smile.

Ronnie got up off one of the chairs in the room and put on his coat "Yeah we'll come and see you tomorrow, yeah?"

"I'll be back in a bit with your things" Natalie assured Alesha before they all gave her hugs and headed out of the room.

"You coming Matt?" Ronnie said to the man who was still sitting on Alesha's bed, facing her, Matt turned briefly back to Ronnie "No, I'm...just going to stay for a bit longer."

Ronnie grinned knowingly "Alright, see you tomorrow then. Night Alesha, take care" he smiled at the young pair and left them to it, closing the door behind him.

Alesha turned to Matt with a quizzical look "You can go if you want, you don't need to stay just because of me."

"Do you want me to go? If you do, just say and I'll leave you to it?"

"No, no, I'd love you to stay...I just assumed you'd be sick of me by now, I've been with you all day."

"Like I'd ever think that" Matt said, taking hold of Alesha's hand.

They fell into silence, before Alesha asked "What are we going to do about the guy who did this?"

Matt sighed "I don't know... description wise we will not be able to catch him, the only chance we've got is if we find our phones and we get his DNA... but" he sighed "I don't think we've got much, if any, hope."

Alesha looked crestfallen, but deep down she had known what Matt was going to say "I just can't understand why someone would do what he did, we hadn't done anything wrong, and to stab me just because he wanted money...how could someone live with that on their conscience?"

Matt was worried this was going to upset Alesha further, but in his heart of hearts he felt exactly like she was feeling "I don't understand it either...I hope we do find him, the bastard! What he did to you...if I ever get my hands on him I'll ..."

"Shh" Alesha cupped Matt's cheek "It's okay...we've just got to think that, I'm fine, you're fine, that's all that matters."

"But I want to see him punished!" Matt said, defiantly, before his tone of voice changed dramatically, he sounded so upset and innocent as he said "He could have taken you away from me."

Alesha took his hand, and gave a small smile, looking at Matt sweetly, listening to him as he continued to pour out his words "If I had lost you I don't know what I would have done..." Matt gazed directly in Alesha's eyes "I want to look after you and protect you, and ... I've been meaning to say this for a long time, but... I care so much for you, Alesha... I don't think you realise quite how much."

Alesha gave a smile and cupped his cheek, knowing full well what Matt meant and she said softly "I think I do" and she leant forward and kissed Matt gently on the lips, before deepening the kiss very quickly.

They broke apart and gazed at one another "I've known for a long while, Matt, and to tell you the truth, I feel the same about you...I love you, Matt."

"Seriously?" Matt wondered, incredulity.

"What more evidence do you need, detective?" Alesha grinned at him.

"Well I've taken all your evidence on board Miss Phillips and I shall give you my verdict" Matt smiled cheekily back at her "And I think both of us are guilty."

"Of what may I ask?" Alesha asked, playing along.

"Guilty of being in love."

Alesha looked slightly surprised, but her heart melted in seconds "You love me?"

"Guilty as charged" Matt hugged her with all his might before looking into Alesha's eyes "I love you so much, Alesha."

"I love you, Matt" she kissed him deeply.

Not the most romantic of settings to admit their feelings, both Alesha and Matt had thought, but that didn't matter to either of them, they were just so grateful that at least they were lucky enough to still have eachother to love.

...

_I hope you liked this fic, the start of this fic came to me as i was lying in bed a few nights ago and i just kind of ran away with the idea when i was writing it :) Again i apologise if i upset or offended anyone, i wrote this with the utmost respect._

_I would never want to kill off Alesha or Matt, but considering i have already done a dramatic story where Matt was in hospital i thought i'd turn the tables and do it from the other point of view. I wasnt sure, with regards to the stabbing wound, if i got it right or not, i had no idea at all, i just had to hazard a guess as to how serious the side effects would be etc._

_Anyway, __**please, please review!**__ I really love to hear what you guys think :)_


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